NEW PUBLICATION: SPace Currencies in Contemporary African Art

from Cassava Republic:

25 artists, 4 art collectives and 6 writer push the boundaries of contemporary African art. This collector's item is available in limited edition only in Nigeria.

Contemporary African Art has been on the brink of rebirth for a while. With artists such as El Anatsui, Victor Ekpuk, Ndidi Dike, Romuald Hazoume and Owusu Ankomah,and galleries like the Centre for Contemporary Art in Lagos, art from West Africa is reaching far beyond decorative confines to explore new forms of expression.

Meanwhile, art from South Africa is already an explosion of provocation and considered reflection on the experiences of our collective present. Pieter Hugo’s gothic photographs on Nollywood a few years ago were a signal that South was eager to consider West.

It is therefore fitting that the continent begins a more in-depth conversation with itself about the future of art in Africa.

In celebration of contemporary art across the continent, an exhibition – SPace – was held in Jo’burg in July 2010. SPace featured 25 artists, 4 art collectives and 6 writers whose work provided creative and intellectual dialogue, which in personal and intimate ways animates imaginative and reflective engagement with social matters and human experiences in contemporary Africa and the Diaspora.

Contributors include Simon Njami, Abebe Zegeye, Bettina Malcomess, Jimmy Ogonga, Raphael Chikukwa and Monica Arac de Nyeko. 

Some of the featured artists include Willem Boshoff, Berni Searle, Barthélémy Toguo, Berry Bickle, Mary Sibande, David Koloane, Godfried Donker, Nandipha Mntambo, Dominique Zinkpé, Miriam Syowia Kyambi and Billie Zangewa. Collectives include El Hassan Echair and Imad Mansour of Collectif 212, Gugulective, Avant Car Guard and Chimurenga.

As with our pan-African collaboration with Chimurenga (South Africa) and Kwani? (Kenya) earlier this year to produce the imaginary newspaper – The Chimurenga Chronicle - Cassava Republic Press is delighted to

continue to collaborate with other African publishers to publish SPace in Nigeria in a limited edition.